Deadman Walking
by AlainnRain
Summary: It's strange how you don't realize how much you've ingrained someone into your life until they're gone. The village of Konoha found this to be true the day Uzumaki Naruto's light was put out. Now the Nine-tails is still showing no signs of reforming and the Leaf Village has hired a trio of unclaimed ninja to help retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru. Slash fic. Rated T for now.
1. Prolog: No Sunshine When He's Gone

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. I do, however, own the plot to this story and Hikari.

**Summery:** It's strange how you don't realize how much you've ingrained someone into your life until they're gone. The village of Konoha found this to be true the day Uzumaki Naruto's light was put out. Now the Nine-tails is still showing no signs of reforming and the Leaf Village has hired a trio of unclaimed ninja to help retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru, but the subtle similarities between the groups leader and Naruto are startling and Kakashi doesn't know how long he can handle this partnership before he finally loses his sanity.

**Rating:** T for now

_ A large amount of Konaha's residents were gathered for the event. Some had been close to the blonde boy no longer with them, while many others had merely seen him in passing every now and again in the village. No one felt it possible that this was happening. 'How _could_ this have happened?' Naruto had always been an unstoppable ray of light, and unconsciously people had begun to see him as a permanent fixture in Konaha. None of them could believe he was suddenly gone. How could someone who never gave up suddenly be plucked from their lives as easily as one would pick an apple? Not one of them had seen the village's future lacking the loud mouthed ninja. It was unimaginable, even to those who had hated him for the fox he contained._

_ Those who knew him cried for the boy who had worn his heart on his sleeve, and those that did not cried for the empty space in their lives they hadn't even realized he had been filling. The ceremony was over before long and people began to trickle away after leaving a flower or two. Soon Kakashi, Iruka, Konohomaru, and Lady Tsunade were the only ones left; all of them thinking the same thing. _This wasn't supposed to happen. _Naruto was never supposed to die. Tsunade was silent as she kissed the tips of her fingers and pressed them to the stone before walking slowly away. The weight of loss stooping her shoulders once again. Konohomaru sniffed and rubbed his eyes before straightening, a determination entering his expression. "I'll make you proud Boss!" he promised. "I'll be the best Hokage this village has ever had! I Promise!" He then stalked off towards the Konaha training grounds, intending to make good on his word._

_ It was down to two when the rain began to fall. The two sensei Naruto had adored. With all but Kakashi gone Iruka's expressionless mask slipped. A harsh sob escaped his mouth and his legs gave out. Startled, Kakashi caught him. Sinking to his knees underneath the weight. Iruka continued to sob not caring if Kakashi thought him weak. Holding the heartbroken man as he wailed Kakashi felt his own tears slip silently from his mismatched eyes down to his rapidly dampening mask. His chest ached and he couldn't help but wonder if he'd finally found the death that would kill him with grief. He tightened his hold on the brunette in his arms and bowed his head, giving in to the emotions that tore at him. Neither of them sensed the audience they had... _

_ Nearby, a pair of eyes watched the scene undetected. Eyelids slipped closed to cover the pain filled brown. He had expected the brown haired mans reaction to be sorrowful, but he hadn't realized it would be so gut wrenching for the man. But there was no turning back now, and the man would surely get over Naruto's death quickly enough. He, like everyone else, would forget the blonde boy soon he was sure. With a last look at the now rain drenched pair, the figure turned silently and vanished from the Village Hidden in the Leaves._

**A/N: **Let me know what you think? This will probably be a long story. Though, I'm not sure how long yet. I'm just going to see where it takes me. Please be constructive with criticism. I appreciate errors being pointed out so I can fix them, but I'd prefer it not come in the form of mean words.


	2. Four Years Past

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. I do, however, own the plot to this story and Hikari.

**Summery:** It's strange how you don't realize how much you've ingrained someone into your life until they're gone. The village of Konoha found this to be true the day Uzumaki Naruto's light was put out. Now the Nine-tails is still showing no signs of reforming and the Leaf Village has hired a trio of unclaimed ninja to help retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru, but the subtle similarities between the groups leader and Naruto are startling and Kakashi doesn't know how long he can handle this partnership before he finally loses his sanity.

**Rating:** T for now

**A flash of light.**

_The sounds of battle echo in his ear. Bodies clashing in attempts to maim._

**Another flash.**

_Sakura's scream vibrates through his senses. _

**A third flash.**

_A horrifying silence at the bodies littering the former battleground._

**A fourth flash.**

_Blonde hair, usually sunlit in color, now matted with dirt and blood. Pleas for him to "just hold on. Just a little longer. Just hold on."_

**A final flash.**

_A bloodied mouth lifts at the corners one last time. A final exhaled breath. Deep blue eyes that used to sparkle with life, now sightless and empty. Pale hands, soaked in blood, shake violently. Anguish. Horror. Pure, unbridled agony_

Hatake Kakashi sat straight up in bed with a pained gasp. In the dim light he could make out the crimson of blood on his hands before a blink of his eyes showed clean pale skin. Four years. Four years and it still hurt so much that his chest ached. The dreams (or rather nightmares) were always agony; more so than living out his days because at least then he had distractions. Sometimes, the ache was bad enough that he couldn't breath. He'd never really been one for panicking; always the calm and collected one. Now, if he allowed himself too much time to think about everyday life, about the absence of a loud, grinning blonde, anxiety gripped him tight and wouldn't let go.

He let out a breath and rubbed his hand tiredly over his mask covered face. He forced himself to vacate his bed, shower, and leave his dark apartment. Making his way to the cemetery was almost instinctive, he had managed to avoid it for the last week by keeping himself busy, but now his feet led him there of their own consent. Shortly he found himself standing over a smooth headstone adorned with fresh cherry blossoms. Most likely left by Tsunade or Sakura earlier that morning.

It still didn't quite feel real. It felt like he should be heading to the bridge to meet his team and have two voices yell in unison that whatever excuse he had for being late was a lie... but it was real. The name carved into the stone at his feet was proof of how real this nightmare was. Kneeling down, he brushed his fingers over the name.

_Uzumaki Naruto_

"Sorry I haven't been around..." he said quietly.

The day of the funeral was ingrained in his memory. It had been dark and overcast, as if the sky itself was acknowledging that an incarnate beam of sunshine had been put out. Kakashi had thought it fitting. Sunlight on a terrible day like that would have been a mockery. When it started to rain it was even more befitting.

While watching the funeral, Kakashi never would have expected it to end with him holding Iruka while they both cried over their student, but it had. If there was anyone who understood how Kakashi felt, it was Iruka. Kakashi would admit that when he'd first met Iruka he had thought the man was an overbearing mother hen. After Naruto died, though, the silver haired man realized that Iruka had a reason to be so overprotective. If only he could've taken some cues from the brunette and been more protective then maybe Naruto would still be running around the village in that obnoxious way of his.

Kakashi sighed and looked around the sunlit grounds. There had been a time when he had spent hours in front of Rin and Obito's grave. Now, he would visit them briefly before spending the majority of his time with Naruto's headstone.

He still couldn't believe it had happened so fast. He turned his head for a split second and heard Sakura scream. That blood chilling scream that still haunted his mind.

Turning back, he had seen her fighting her way to a bloody, orange clad body laying prone on the ground. The battle had ended as quickly as possible after that as he, Sakura, and Sasuke had gone into a heightened mode of fighting. Desperate to end the battle and reach their fallen comrade...

It had been too late. Too late for even the Biju Naruto carried to provide help. Naruto's personal chakra was gone, leaving nothing for the fox he housed to work with, and he quickly bled out with various weapons sticking out of his rapidly paling skin.

The silver haired Jōnin sat down, leaning his back against the head stone and resting his arms on his raised knees. He would probably be here for a while so it was no use standing.

"The effort to bring Sasuke back isn't going too well." He finally murmured as his fingers played with a blade of grass, "You remember I told you he ran off to Orochimaru in search of power after you..." He trailed off and cleared his throat before continuing.

"After you left... I don't know how to bring him back and convince him to stay. Sakura doesn't either, but she's trying. He almost killed her the last time we made contact and yet she still hasn't given up. I think you may have rubbed off on her. Then there's Sai... Well, Sai doesn't seem to care." The silver haired ninja gave a half hearted chuckle." I don't think Sai actually cares about anything, really... Except maybe his art. I did tell you about Sai didn't I? He was assigned to our team as your stand in, but most of us are fairly certain Danzo assigned him to spy on Sasuke. Tsunade-sama and few others believe he was under orders to kill Sasuke if he tried to leave Konoha, but those ninja of Orochimaru's made things complicated... Sai, Lee, and several others, were injured and almost died. It's been years and we're still no closer. I know I'm repeating myself, but I suppose it's good that I do, since you never really paid attention to what I said anyway."

A small smile tugged at his lips beneath his mask as he remembered how annoyed he used to get when Naruto made him continuously repeat his words. "I feel like you would have been able to get through to Sasuke. Mostly because you were too bull headed to give up and even Sasuke couldn't have refused you... Not forever, at least."

For a moment Kakashi closed his eyes, "I miss you... I'd do so many things different if I could go back, and the first one would be to spend more time on your training. If I had focused on your abilities as much as I had on Sasukes then this stone wouldn't be here."

Guilt caused his heart to clench painfully in his chest. This was all his fault. He had never been able to protect the people he cared about, but Naruto was supposed to be the exception. Naruto was supposed to be the one that lived, the one that _He_ was supposed to truly and honestly protect. For once he was going to have someone he wouldn't let down and then in the blink of an eye Naruto was gone. He was gone and Kakashi had, again, let down and lost a person most precious to him.

One hand grabbed at his chest in a sorry attempt to dull the pain pulsing there. Leaning forward Kakashi choked down the emotions threatening to escape. Gripping his vest in a fist he clenched his teeth. He couldn't do this right now; he needed to pull himself together he was meant to meet Sai and Sakura a while ago. Kakashi took a deep breath and loosened the harsh grip his fingers had on his clothes before pushing himself to his feet.

Later he would wallow, but for the next several hours he was a Jōnin of Konoha and he couldn't afford to make mistakes because of distractions. Turning away, Kakashi forced himself to make his way to his team. It took only a few minutes to reach the designated meeting spot for Team Kakashi. Sakura and Sai were both leaning silently against the bridge railing. Feeling his presence they both turn to him.

"Hatake-san." Sai greets with his eyes scrunched from a creepy, fake smile paired with a voice that made his skin crawl.

Sakura, though, looked ready to throttle him. Emotions flickered furiously over the pink haired girls face before she settled for glowering at the silver eyed man. "You're late Sensei! Tsunade-sama sent for us hours ago!" She snapped angrily, "And you would have known that if you'd been here like you were supposed to!" Kakashi kept his face blank despite the mask covering the lower half of his face. Making everyone wait should make him feel bad, he knew, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He, also, couldn't help but think how wrong that first sentence sounded without a second voice chiming in. Crossing her arms tensely the green eyed Kunoichi stalked past him. "Let's go. Tsunade-sama is waiting for us." Kakashi didn't respond as he followed Sai, hooking his thumbs into his pockets, while they both walked behind the fuming Sakura.

Quickly making their way to the Hokage tower they let Shizune hurriedly usher them into a non-descriptive room, with a single desk in the otherwise empty space, before firmly closing the door behind them. The three Leaf Ninja immediately noticed three unexpected figures standing to the side, their stances relaxed, though their arms were folded across their chests. A slender girl with white hair pulled back into a braided ponytail, with a delicate oval face, pert little nose, and pretty pink lips stood to the right of the little group. Her feline like, bright purple eyes observed the new group with a smirking curiosity.

On the far left was a face Kakashi's team knew rather well. Sabaku no Gaara stood with the characteristic blank look adorning his pale face. His blood red hair was longer than when they last saw him, falling wildly over his forehead to just above his sea-foam colored eyes, though, the small kanji scarred into his skin was still visible. One other noticeable difference in the stoic teen, Kakashi noted, was his aura. The young man would never be someone you wanted to mess with, but he no longer made you feel like you were waiting on a psychotic episode. He still felt dangerous, still alert, but there was a languid ease in both his aura and his stance. Kakashi couldn't help but wonder what had caused such a drastic change.

Pushing the thoughts to the side, Konoha's Copy Ninja directed his attention to the boy standing slightly in-front of the other two. Dressed in all black, semi-loose clothing with a fishnet shirt underneath the rolled up sleeves of his jacket, the teen carried an obvious authority in his stance. The boy had black hair peaking out underneath a black bandana, warm brown eyes complimented by a strong jaw line, and lightly tanned skin. Leanly muscular and standing at roughly the same height as the red headed Sand Nin, the brown eyed teen watched the group quietly. Despite his stillness Kakashi detected an animal-like grace that seemed to pour off of him. Something about the black haired teen was setting off alarm bells in his head, though he couldn't pinpoint what it was...

"Kakashi, Sakura, Sai glad you finally decided to join us." Tsunade said dryly. "before we start; this discussion isn't to leave this room, understood?"

The blonde woman waited for the collective 'Hai, Hokage-sama's' before continuing.

"This," she nodded to the group on her left, "is the trio known as The Ōkami. I have hired them to help bring Sasuke back to Konoha."

Waiting for a response the Hokage stopped and everything was silent...

"What!" Sakura finally yelped. "Sensei! We are perfectly capable of bringing Sasuke back! Why would you hire some random group of rouge ninjas to do something we can do ourselves! There was no need for you to hire thes⎯"

"Enough, Sakura!" Tsunade interrupted with a glare,"Obviously we _do_ need their help since you and your team have been unsuccessful thus far!" She gave a heavy sigh, bracing her hands against the desk. "We're out of time, Sakura. The counsel has given us two weeks to bring Sasuke back before they label him a Rouge Nin and start sending out ninja with the intent to kill. This is our last chance and these three are the best at live retrieval. They are good at what they do, and I'm not asking you to step aside. I'm asking you to trust that I'm doing what I think is best and that working with this group is the greatest chance we have at not only bringing the damn Uchiha back to Konoha, but keeping him alive as well! Now," Tsunade met her students green eyes intently, "will you trust me?"

Sakura gapped at her Hokage before closing her mouth to look guiltily at the floor. "I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama. I do trust you."

Konoha's Hokage observed her silently for a moment before nodding, "Good. I need every person in this room to cooperate fully if we are going to pull this off." She made eye contact with each of the six ninja in turn. Picking up two folders she handed them off to Kakashi and the boy in black, "This is all the intel we have on Sasuke's current whereabouts. Use a concealment seal on it when you're done. I'll let you introduce yourselves and come up with a mission strategy. This is an A-ranked mission, and I expect to be kept updated on your plans. I will tolerate absolutely no fighting between the six of you. Understood?" She asked, though they all knew it wasn't a question.

Once the two teams responded with their understandings, Tsunade along with Shizune took their leave for other business.

Tension was thick in the air as the two trios sized each other up. After a long moment it was the girl with the amethyst eyes who broke the silence, "I'm Hikari." She purred with an easy smirk, "I'm guessing... By the looks you gave Gaara, that you're already acquainted with him. And this," she said bumping her hip against the boy in black. "Is Ryu."

Sakura was the one to respond, waving her hands towards her teammates, "The creepy one is Sai, I'm Sakura," She paused briefly, shooting a glare to the older man next to her, "and the Masked Master of Lateness, is Kakashi Sensei." In any other situation Kakashi would have rolled his eyes, a smirk hidden behind his mask, but he wasn't comfortable with this situation. No matter what Tsunade said, he knew this mission was going to have some kinks...

A voice broke through the Copy Nin's thoughts, "We should look over the files first, and then discuss strategy."

Kakashi's grey eye met Ryu's Brown eyes; it was the first thing the boy had said in the time they'd been there. He had a low, slightly raspy voice, but it wasn't unpleasant to hear. The rasp was surprisingly soothing in a way, but Kakashi could tell that it would deepen a little bit more before it stopped changing. A thought of what Naruto would have sounded like when he was older flashed through his head before he pushed it away. Nodding his agreement to the raven haired teen, Kakashi turned to his team holding the file out just enough that the three of them could all see.

Motion caught his eye and he saw the three teens situate themselves against the wall. Leaning in close together to quietly discuss and point to things as they read the information they were given. Ryu sat in the middle with Gaara and Hikari on either side. A few times he saw them playfully bicker and one of them would slap the others pointing hand away. They were acting like this was a game. The older ninja felt anger towards the younger ninjas, this wasn't some low ranking mission they could half ass. They were talking about Sasuke's life being on the line. This mission had to work. Sasuke would never mean as much to him as Naruto had, Kakashi could admit that to himself, but he still cared about the boy who was once his student. Giving them one more glance, he saw them still goofing off. He turned back to the file, thinking their odds of returning with Sasuke were slim to none with this group... No, it was just looking worse and worse.

'_What were you thinking, Tsunade?' _He wondered, '_What were you thinking...'_


	3. Discussions

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. I do, however, own the plot to this story and Hikari.

**Summery:** It's strange how you don't realize how much you've ingrained someone into your life until they're gone. The village of Konoha found this to be true the day Uzumaki Naruto's light was put out. Now the Nine-tails is still showing no signs of reforming and the Leaf Village has hired a trio of unclaimed ninja to help retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru, but the subtle similarities between the groups leader and Naruto are startling and Kakashi doesn't know how long he can handle this partnership before he finally loses his sanity.

**Rating:** T for now

Kakashi sighed heavily as he trudged up the stairs to his apartment located right next to Naruto's old place. He'd moved in next door after the funeral. Refusing to let the blonde boys apartment be changed even the slightest bit, he had chosen to keep an eye on the place by moving as close as he could without actually living in the apartment itself. There were days though, where he would go inside, lay on the boys floor, and stare around the room; telling himself that the smell of grass, ramen, and a lively spice, that was uniquely Naruto, wasn't overpowered by the musk of an unused room. Pretending his blonde student would walk in the door any minute and express his confusion on why his Sensei was in his home. After a few hours tears would slip from the corners of his eyes, leaving wet trails down to his hairline. No matter how much he wished, or how hard he begged, this was his reality, and he would never be able to change that.

Briefly, the Copy Nin considered going there now, but swiftly decided against it. He didn't have the energy to pretend things were different. Plus, today had been emotionally painful enough without adding to it. Between his nightmares, the visit to Naruto's grave, discussing Sasuke, and seeing Gaara(who he knew Naruto had become close to before his death), he was emotionally exhausted to the point of wanting to crawl in bed and not move for an indefinite amount of time.

As he closed in on his place he realized this wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Opening the door, Kakashi slipped inside and closed it behind him before leaning against it heavily. "Tsunade-sama," He greeted blankly, "I assume it must be important since you've made yourself at home, rather than calling me to your office."

Konoha's Hokage was seated on the brown faux leather chair, on the far side of the open living room. "We need to discuss this mission." She said plainly.

Another heavy sigh left the mans lips as he took a seat on the deep blue couch to her left, before waving his hand to show he was listening.

"This mission," She started, "Is...delicate, as you well know. On record it's an A-rank, but off record it's an S-rank. Although, I'm sure I don't need to tell you that either-"

"Tsunade-sama," Kakashi interrupted. "We both know what things I'm already aware of, so what did you really come here to discuss?"

Tsunade released her own heavy sigh, "I do not regret my decision to bring The Ōkami onto this mission, but I'm not naive enough to fully trust them. I need you to keep an eye on them. Don't...constrict them, but don't let them have full reign..."

The silver haired man observed her with a calculating look. "What all do we really know about this group, Tsunade-sama?"

"Unfortunately, not much. Gaara we know the most about; family name Sabaku, is the one tail's host, he is a formidable opponent-even more so now if his aura is anything to go by-and he left the Sand village on the one year anniversary of..." Her lips tightened briefly with concealed emotion before she continued. "Naruto's funeral." She cleared her throat,"Hikari is from the land of Snow. Her abilities are closely guarded, but she was considered something of a demon in her own right. Much like a jinchūriki."

A strong, slim hand brushed down her face,"The most concerning, though, is Ryu. He's like a ghost. No one knows where he came from, or what he's truly capable of... Then he...well, I'm sure you noticed..."

"His complete lack of a chakra signature?" Kakashi asked, finishing the sentence she left hanging. "Yes, I noticed... It's disturbing..." A silver eye stared blankly at the floor while thinking back to the black haired teen. "Not even his life force chakra was present. Even Gai and Lee have a life force chakra, and someone concealing their chakra should only be able to hold it for five to six hours at most. He held it easily in check without strain for ten hours. Not even our best Anbu can manage that. It's like he's dead on his feet..." Kakashi shook his head as if to dislodge the disturbed unease he felt.

She hummed, "That's a rather fitting description. A deadman walking..." The Hokage shook her head lightly,"How did the planing go?"

It was the mans turn to hum,"I respect you, Tsunade-sama, you know that, but this group...They don't seem to be taking this mission seriously. Are you sure this alliance is going to succeed?"

"Kakashi-san, I wouldn't have made this deal if it wasn't our best and only option. They may not act like it, but Ryu and his team know what they're doing. Records of their missions show only one failed assignment out of roughly two hundred.

Kakashi resisted the urge to sputter, "Two hundred? How is that possible? None of them could possibly be over the age of 16!"

"It is an awful lot...but it proves their efficiency and time management, both of which we need." She watched him carefully,"The planning?" She prompted him again.

A pale hand in a fingerless glove rubbed down his face in resignation,"It was...Interesting. Gaara was silent the entirety of the meeting, which wasn't very surprising, he seems to only talk when he deems it necessary. Hikari was very vocal. She firmly believes that our best bet is infiltrating the base Sasuke is hiding in, waiting until he is alone, and then distracting him long enough for one of us to incapacitate him. I tried to tell her that it wouldn't work on Sasuke with his sharingan, but she and her team mates refused to listen. They are determined the plan will work. Then, Ryu, despite being their apparent leader, spent half the time not listening to a word that was said; Hikari kept passing him notes to catch him back up when he couldn't answer a simple question about what we were discussing." He met the Hokage's eyes through the dark of the room for the first time that night,"I'm willing to trust you, Tsunade-sama, but I don't see how we could possibly be successful with what I've seen of them so far."

The blonde woman nodded tensely,"Tomorrow, take the first part of the day to acquaint yourself with their fighting styles, and the last half to finish up mission details and pack provisions. I wish there was more time to turn you six into a full-fledge team, but given our time constraints you'll have to make do with what time we have." She stood and regarded him, "I know you think they are being ignorant with the simple plan they have, but nothing we've tried has worked. I think it's time we try something different. So, give them a chance. Maybe a simple plan is what we've been missing." She made to leave when Kakashi spoke up.

"Tsunade-sama, have you heard anything from Jiraiya-sama?"

She looked back at him over her shoulder, "The Kyūbi has still not reformed, but old texts say the fourth year is the most likely time for a reformation. Jiraiya is sure it will happen soon. Unfortunately, the Akatsuki are just as sure as he is, and they have been stalking around in wait. I've sent reinforcements, but it's still a waiting game... So, there is no real change." Looking forward again she addressed him once more."Get some sleep, Kakashi." She said, dropping the honorifics, "You look exhausted."

With that, Tsunade left and Kakashi was left to stew over her words. Maybe she was right. Maybe they needed to try something different to bring Sasuke back to Konoha. At least this he could deal with, the situation with the Kyūbi, though, was completely different. He knew that the return of the Kyūbi was desperately needed, but he hated the reminder that Naruto was gone. He had too many reminders already.

Once news had gotten out about the death of their Jinchūriki, Konoha's enemies had wasted no time in trying to bring them to their knees. Their superior Ninja had won out in the end, but there were still losses. Two years after they began their enemies finally realized Konoha's strength was not reliant upon having a Jinchūriki in their midst, and they had put a halt to their assault.

He stood from the couch, thoughts returning to his current mission. Making his way to his shower he stripped, turning the temperature high enough to burn. The heat rained down on his muscles and he slowly began to relax. She wasn't wrong when she said none of their more complicated plans had panned out. Would it really be such a bad idea to go with what the Ōkami believed to be their best option?

Kakashi leaned forward letting the stream of water focus on the base of his neck. This was their last shot... He brought a pale hand to his forehead, brushing his fingers through his wet hair. Tsunade-sama believed these kids were their best chance. Could he really argue? He knew he couldn't, dammit.

As much as he didn't like it, they were going to do this their way.

Dammit, they were going to put their trust in a trio of kids and he hoped to god he wasn't going to regret this.


	4. Underestimating

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. I do, however, own the plot to this story and Hikari.

**Summery:** It's strange how you don't realize how much you've ingrained someone into your life until they're gone. The village of Konoha found this to be true the day Uzumaki Naruto's light was put out. Now the Nine-tails is still showing no signs of reforming and the Leaf Village has hired a trio of unclaimed ninja to help retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru, but the subtle similarities between the groups leader and Naruto are startling and Kakashi doesn't know how long he can handle this partnership before he finally loses his sanity.

**Rating:** T for now

* * *

The next day found the newly put together team standing on one of Konoha's training grounds. Sunlight bathed the area and a warm summer breeze wafted across the field in the early morning. The six ninja stood awkwardly facing each other.

"So how are we doing this?" Ryu inquired.

Kakashi looked to the bandana wearing boy,"Since I am fairly confident in Gaara's capabilities, I'd like to focus on yours and Hikari's. I've matched you four up based on my impressions of you two."

There was a brief pause before he added, "I hope you don't mind." Although, his tone suggested he didn't really care if they did mind. Ryu simply tilted his head in response as he watched the older ninja. He seemed to be puzzling him out in a way that somewhat unnerved the silver haired man.

"So what pairings have you chosen?" Hikari spoke up, amethyst eyes sparkling with excitement.

The older ninja turned his head to the overly chipper snow haired girl,"I've paired you against Sakura." He nodded to the pink haired Kunoichi on his left. "And Ryu will face Sai."

"We'll go first," Sakura interjected eagerly, wanting to show her strength.

"Perfect" Hikari said. Smirks suddenly gracing Ryu and Hikari's lips made Kakashi feel they were underestimating the green eyed girl. After a moment longer the four males moved to the side of the field to watch the two females spar.

Once they were clear of the fight zone Kakashi raised his voice to be heard."You can begin whenever, but remember, no lasting damage. We all leave on our mission tomorrow and it's going to be hard enough without adding an injured comrade to our list of disadvantages."

Hikari and Sakura nodded their understanding as they sized each other up. Their bodies tensed slightly in anticipation. The 30 seconds it took before the girls made their first moves seemed longer than it was. Muscles coiled and sprang as they rushed forward. Hikari's brown gloved fist swung forward to meet Sakura's black, sending a chakra fueled shock wave rippling through the air. A slight grunt escaped the snow haired girl as the force of Sakura's blow pushed her arm back and sent her spinning through the air before she twisted her feet back underneath her.

Sliding across the ground on the balls of her feet she shoved her hand into the dirt to stop her body's momentum. Kakashi squinted in sympathy, he knew exactly what hitting fist to fist with Sakura felt like, but he couldn't resist the satisfaction he felt over how surprised the team must be over seeing their friend go flying.

Standing up, Hikari spread her fingers wide before shaking out her hand. She hummed lightly as she regarded the pink haired female in front of her and a grin formed on her face.

A frown drew Kakashi's brows together in confusion at the grin, until he saw Sakura staring in shock at her limp arm. _How had that happened?_ Sakura held her arm trying to heal the damage and having no he had underestimated this team more than he thought. His sudden intrigue was hidden behind his mask and the hitai-ate covering his left eye. A glance to his right showed a proudly grinning Ryu resting his arm on Gaara's shoulder. Kakashi contemplated their response silently. He was used to Ninja of their labeling being cocky when a member of their team was stronger than their opponent, but the raven and the red head held no trace of arrogance. If anything they just looked ridiculously proud of their teammate. It was unusual to see.

A noise of frustration from Sakura brought his attention back to the girls. Even though this was a semi-friendly sparing match, Sakura wasn't just going to give up. There was a time when she might have sat down in the middle of a fight and cried over not being strong enough. Now, she would fight until she had no more to give. He had seen the beginning of her fiery spirit in the Chūnin exams against her rival Yamanaka Ino, but after losing both her teammates she was determined to be her best and never give up. He had never seen her cry harder than the day Naruto died, and when Sasuke left her behind too-Well...l... Sakura had overcome a lot, and the first strike leaving her with an unusable arm was like waving a sign in her face and screaming "not good enough!"

Hikari must have seen the same angry, determined glint in Sakura's green eyes that he had, because she shifted to a more defensive posture. Sakura sprang forward again, her fist slamming into Hikari's forearms as she raised them to keep the blow from hitting her face. Blow after blow was struck at the Ōkami's only female member, but she blocked and shoved to the side each one. It became a dance of fast punches and kicks as they concentrated on hand to hand combat; chakra infused into their movements. Being down an arm was no doubt a disadvantage for Sakura, but she quickly adapted to using her legs and arm in a way that made up for the useless limb swinging at her side. Kakashi felt pride at her ability to adapt her fighting style.

A brief break in Sakura's defenses allowed Hikari to land both palms to Sakura's chest, pushing her back enough to land a solid kick to her head. With the pink haired teen on the ground, Hikari put some distance between them.

Sakura quickly jumped back to her feet, shifted her hips, and slammed her fist into the ground. The ground broke apart, shooting upwards and sending Hikari flying through the air. She landed heavy on her side, rolling across the ground before coming to a halt. She lay still for a beat before she coughed, pushing up on her hands and dragged her knees underneath her. No doubt the breath had been knocked from her lungs with that landing.

Kakashi glanced over to her teammates. Ryu looked impressed, but seemed to have expected this fight to go somewhat like this, as there was no surprise in his expression. The boy's muscles were tense though, and Kakashi followed the line of his strong muscles to see him gripping Gaara's arm in a tight, restraining grasp. In contrast to Ryu, Gaara was barely refraining from moving onto the field. His body was stiff and leaning forward about to step towards the slender girl, now resting on her knees. Bringing his gaze to the ex-Sand Ninja's face, Kakashi saw the intense narrow of his turquoise eyes, while he watched her intently. The silver haired man would guess he was searching for any major damage before his glaring eyes snapped to Ryu with a dangerous glint. A glint even Kakashi found unnerving.

Ryu shared a stare-down with the red head before he rolled his eyes. He sighed, in what Kakashi would guess was exasperation, before he called out,"Hey! I happen to like your face."

Trying to decipher that comment, the Copy Nin turned back to see Hikari give him a nod before using the acquired space to quickly yanked her arm length gloves off, leaving her pale skin bare from her biceps down to her finger tips. Eyes narrowing, Kakashi instinctively lifted his Hitai-ate and open his mismatched eye, revealing his sharingan. Somehow he knew he was going to want a better look at what was about to happen.

Sakura surged forward with a fresh burst of chakra fueled blows, now colored green thanks to the Uchiha vision. Hikari blocked each one, pushing out short flares of lavender chakra with each contact. An attempt at reducing the force of the hits, is what Kakashi thought, until he began to see the effects each burst of purple produced. They were little things: fingers unable to fully curl into a fist, legs not working properly, an eyelid refusing to open up. He watched closer, seeing each flare connect with Sakura's chakra and shoot through her body almost invisibly.

He watched as each girl slowed just slightly in their attacks; Sakura desperately trying to keep herself moving, and Hikari panting hard with a grimace of pain across her face. A small concentration of chakra began gathering in the snow haired girl's palm. One more small zap gave her an opening to jump forward and lightly tap her chakra laced palm against Sakura's face.

The green eyed girl dropped to the ground like a rock and didn't move, leaving a paralyzing silence across the field.

Kakashi blinked,_"What the hell just happened?"_

* * *

_**A/N: **_I'm so sorry! I'm a terrible person for making you wait so long! You guys have full permission to hate me. As always this is unbeta'd so all mistakes are my own. If you see any please let me know. Also, thank you for all the support!


	5. Uncooperative

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. I do, however, own the plot to this story and Hikari.

**Summery:** It's strange how you don't realize how much you've ingrained someone into your life until they're gone. The village of Konoha found this to be true the day Uzumaki Naruto's light was put out. Now the Nine-tails is still showing no signs of reforming and the Leaf Village has hired a trio of unclaimed ninja to help retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru, but the subtle similarities between the groups leader and Naruto are startling and Kakashi doesn't know how long he can handle this partnership before he finally loses his sanity.

**Rating:** T for now

The stillness was finally broken by the distant cry of a bird, snapping Kakashi out of his wide eyed trance. He quickly made his way to Sakura's side with his hands shaking and his heart in his throat. The lack of blood did nothing to still the fear choking him. Not when he could be walking towards the corpse of one of the few people he still allowed himself to care for. Someone he couldn't keep himself from caring about, despite all those he'd lost before. The closer he moved the faster his pulse throbbed under his skin. When he reached her he held his breath, putting his fingers to her neck. A steady thrum had him releasing the air held captive in his lungs, forcing his anxiety out along with it. Having felt her heart beat he finally saw the small rise and fall of her chest as air went in and out of her lungs, something he had missed in his panic.

He tugged down his hitai-ate and shifted his attention to the lavender eyed girl, finding her trying to regulate her own breath while Ryu supported her around her waist and Gaara held a chakra filled palm against her ribcage. Her eyes met his. "A Kekkei genkai?" He asked.

"Yeah." She wheezed out.

Kakashi nodded,"Can you..." He trailed off gesturing towards the limp rose haired girl. Her completely limp state unnerved him even though he knew she was alive.

Hikari gave a nod and moved forward despite the hard grip on her arm as Gaara tried to keep her still. She reached out, lightly placing her finger tips on Sakura's bare arm. The change was instant; Sakura inhaled deeply, opened her eyes, and sat up looking as if nothing had happened. The only evidence of the fight was a few bruises and a small cut on her cheek from a flying rock. Finished with the task she allowed Gaara to pull her back in place at his side and replaced his palm against her ribs.

"How does it work?" Kakashi asked intently.

"Well, uh..." she started, embarrassment coloring her tone, "As far as I've been able to figure out, it targets the nervous system and blocks the messages the brain sends to the body. A paralysis inducer I guess you could call it."

The grey haired man stared at her for a moment. "Hmm, that's useful." He finally replied. Definitely useful, but it didn't look like she had much control over what was paralyzed with each contact. Not to mention, that her close range style wouldn't help them unless they could actually get her close to Sasuke. A feat that Kakashi knew was near impossible given the Uchiha's talents.

Hikari's lips quirked up at the corner, humming a response.

After that it was silent, and they sat awkwardly awaiting Gaara to allow Hikari the freedom to move. Randomly, Ryu cleared his throat,"So can we get this over with? I'm hungry."

Gaara sighed and two of the three Konoha Shinobi looked at him with disgruntled faces. "Kyūbi's tails, Gaara!" Hikari gasped dramatically. "Ni-san is hungry!" She fell into the red head's side, continuing her sarcastic acting. "The world must be ending!"

Kakashi inwardly startled at her wording. He'd never heard anyone use Kyūbi in a way that made the chakra beast sound like some deity to be worshipped. Nor had he heard such a fond tone regarding the fox. He made a mental note to look into religions in the land of snow; maybe some weird cult worshiped him. It wouldn't surprise him... people were strange.

"Eh," Ryu waved her off."We have one match to go, yeah?" He said suddenly full of excess energy. "Lets do it!"

Kakashi was about to reply when Sai beat him to it."You are strange." Sai bluntly interrupted Ryu's energy, his phony, happy smile and tone in place.

Sakura snorted at her teammate, and Kakashi had to admit that part of him missed the Sakura that would have put her hands on her hips and snottily said,"You're one to talk, Sai." If only because that would mean she hadn't had to grow up with the loss of her comrades, just as he had. Pushing away the nostalgia, Kakashi saw Ryu tilt his head at Sai with a quizzical expression. After a second, the grey haired male realized it was the first time Ryu had really heard Sai attempt to interact in a way that wasn't a discussion of strategies; something that didn't really need too much intonation. He saw an unnerved look cross the tan boys face before he buried it beneath his other emotions.

He needed to get them back on task, "Same rules apply." Kakashi said bring attention back to their objective for the morning. "You can start once we're clear."

Sai and Ryu agreed readily, taking their places while the others moved back to the sidelines. Once more a safe observing distance away Konoha's Copy Nin found his anticipation for the match growing rapidly. Maybe now the teen would be forced to reveal the chakra signature he guarded so closely. He watched intently as the two males studied each other. Neither of them moved. They stood motionless for so long that Kakashi was beginning to wonder if they had turned to statues. He was slightly ashamed to say he was so intent on Ryu and Sai that he jumped when Hikari impatiently yelled,"For the love of Shukaku! Will you freaking spar already!"

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, _"First Kyūbi, now Shukaku; what is with this girl?"_ Kakashi wondered.

Ryu, obviously use to her eccentricities, laughed happily at her outburst and promptly disappeared. Kakashi hastily yanked up the material over his eye, catching a blur of chakra before the teen reappeared behind Sai. The boy's fist was already mid-swing towards Sai's head, but the emotionally challenged male spun, throwing his left arm up in a block and countering with his right fist. Just when Sai should have made contact, Ryu vanished again, this time coming in with a low leg sweep. Sai jumped high in the air threw out one of his scrolls, swiped his brush across the paper, and made a hand sign. He couldn't hear it, but Kakashi saw Sai's lips move causing several large, beastly, black snakes to slither off the page in pursuit of his opponent.

Kakashi had seen him use these particular chakra snakes on a mission to find a rouge ninja they had been tasked with finding. They usually tracked a ninja based off their chakra, but the way this boy tucked it deep down inside he'd guess that Sai had marked him when he blocked the boy's punch.

The chakra beasts slithered around in a way that seemed drunk and aimless until one of them suddenly disappeared. An indication that at least one had managed to get some sort of grasp on their target.

The others quickly followed suite, and Ryu reappeared tangled in a mess of the beasts, flailing his limbs and yelling dramatically before he fell on his back.

Kakashi felt his irritation rise. This kid wasn't taking this seriously! It was obvious he had viable capabilities, otherwise the Ōkami wouldn't have the reputation they did. Not to mention, it didn't matter how skilled his teammates were, they wouldn't be able to keep him alive if he couldn't hold his own against the big-shot ninja they had faced. No, Ryu was merely pretending to go along with these sparring sessions, voicing his lack of cooperation through actions rather than words. He might as well blatantly tell them to screw themselves.

To further his frustration, the boy's chakra was no longer hidden, but it was still distorted. Something keeping it unrecognizable and causing it to stay indecipherable as his specific chakra signature. A glowing chakra tattoo on his chest revealed why. Seeing it, Kakashi worked to choke down the growl threatening to escape. A look to Gaara and Hikari showed the same glowing chakra tattoo over their hearts as well. They must have activated it when Ryu made his first move. Kakashi had seen those tattoos once before against a group of s-class criminals back in his Anbu days. As long as one of them had chakra to spare, then none of them would run out. It was formidable in a fight since it also caused faster chakra recovery time. The Copy Nin and his comrades had almost lost their lives that night, but every jutsu has a weakness and, luckily, they had found it. It was sure to be the same for these three, and yet, despite his severe annoyance with this group, Kakashi hoped he wouldn't have to use it against them.

One thing held true for the son of the White Fang; if they turned on them at any point, he wouldn't hesitate to ruin them. He wouldn't lose anyone else. He _refused_ to lose anyone else.

A/N: Ugh! I Suck, I know. There are a plethora of things that caused this to be so late, but, lets be honest, you guys aren't here to read about my problems. Also, Teacuppy and I have discussed how unfair it is that my chapters are so short when it takes me so long to update... (I Agree completely) Given this... I'm posting two chapters today! So... Hopefully that halfway makes up for the lateness? No? Eh, well it was worth the try.


	6. Unveiling is Just a Matter of Time

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. I do, however, own the plot to this story and Hikari.

**Summery:** It's strange how you don't realize how much you've ingrained someone into your life until they're gone. The village of Konoha found this to be true the day Uzumaki Naruto's light was put out. Now the Nine-tails is still showing no signs of reforming and the Leaf Village has hired a trio of unclaimed ninja to help retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru, but the subtle similarities between the groups leader and Naruto are startling and Kakashi doesn't know how long he can handle this partnership before he finally loses his sanity.

**Rating:** T for now

Shikamaru blew out a long, annoyed breath. He would much rather be meditating, or playing shōgi, or better yet napping. It was supposed to be his day off after all. Unfortunately, Tsunade-sama had asked him to play messenger to Team 7. When he finished he was to inform her what he thought of the trio hired to accompany Kakashi's team in recovering Uchiha Sasuke.

The dark haired seventeen year old made his way to the training field the six man team was occupying just in time to see a tan skinned, black bandana wearing male, roughly sixteen, seventeen years old, fall to the ground entirely wrapped in excessively large chakra snakes. He flailed uselessly in a staged manner that had Shikamaru frowning before the teen went limp and huffed as if to say, 'you win, I'm done.'

"_Hmm, no real effort was exerted. He thinks this is wasting time they should be dedicating to the mission. I can't help but think he's right. Ugh, agreeing with an outsider, what a drag."_

"Hatake-san," He greeted in his usual bored tone.

Hatake Kakashi turned around and met the young genius' eyes, "Shikamaru-san. Surprised to see you here."

The teen grunted,"Tsunade-sama sent me. Our informant contacted; Sasuke will be changing locations soon. You'll need to gather your supplies and head out as soon as possible. If you want a chance at catching him you'll have to make your move in three days time."

The grey haired male nodded,"Understood, thank you."

He motioned the two males dressed in black over to the sidelines and was quick to informed everyone of the change in the mission plans. While the older ninja gave them the new plans and departure time, Shikamaru observed the foreign trio.

He learned a long time ago that everything could tell a story wether you were observing land after a battle or things on a person before you chose to trust them. It was all a pain really, but it was even more of a pain to be caught unaware. Bandana guy, was Ryu according to Tsunade-sama. Ryu was tense. Not that it was surprising, this whole situation was worth being tense over. What did surprise him was that he didn't bother trying to listen to Kakashi, rather, Ryu was focused on studying Shikamaru. Two pairs of brown eyes met and Shikamaru saw interest reflecting in those calculating iris'. A slight weariness was present as well. This guy knew he was a mystery that people wanted to solve, and just like Shikamaru could recognize the intelligence in the boy before him, Ryu could also see the genius in his. A slight tip of his head to Konoha's genius acknowledged his acceptance of what they both knew was Shikamaru's job. The press of his lips showed he wasn't happy that someone had been tasked with discovering as much about him as they could, but his nod was a silent answer saying he wasn't going to fight it. Respect for the rouge ninja took root with that small gesture. Returning the gesture with a slight dip of his own, set the challenge of wits between the two males. Tsunade-sama had already assigned him the task so he might as well make it interesting. Or, at least as interesting as his analytical mind ever found anything.

Moving on, he looked to the female member of the Ōkami. Unlike Ryu, Hikari was paying close attention to everything being said. Analyzing her was easy; she was the one who put anyone they dealt with at ease. Strength wise, in the team she came third, something about her screamed 'too innocent to be a real fighter.' Although, maybe that was the point. Underestimating an opponent had been the cause of many Ninja's deaths. Regardless of her talents, she obviously had both of her teammates wrapped around her finger. They were both aware of every little twitch Hikari made, even if they were focused on something other than her. Part of him, the part that wasn't finding this a huge drag, was curious about this dynamic. Just then Ryu shifted lightly and Shikamaru realized that Ryu and Gaara weren't the only ones tuned to her. The tensing of her muscles at his movement told the lazy genius that she trusted Ryu's instincts. Possibly, even above her own. If he thought something was wrong, she wouldn't question it. When he didn't move again, she slowly relaxed. How that blind trust hadn't gotten her killed was a mystery to the seventeen year old, but he pushed it aside.

Each of them was attuned to the actions of their other teammates. Their reliance upon each other could possibly be a weakness Konoha could exploit if it came down to it. Shikamaru, didn't believe the trio would turn on them, though. They struck him as the type who upheld their end of a deal.

Shifting his focus one more time he looked at Gaara. He knew Gaara's history so he had a starting point with the red head that he lacked with the other two. He wasn't the monster Shikamaru remembered from before. Hearing people say he was different was one thing, but it was another to see it. He was really relaxed. It didn't seem that he exuded Killer Intent the way he did years ago. His clothing was simpler now as well; less about looks and more about convenience, Shikamaru would say. The one weapon he carried was still only that gourd full of sand. The memory of that sand still disturbed him, but the red head gave off a more stable air, now. Something told him, though, that the two people who made up his team were the source of his newfound stability. The team seemed to rotate leadership based on situation, So if Ryu was the strategic and Hikari was the mediator, then Gaara would be the enforcer. After all, he may be stable, but Shikamaru would bet his favorite Shōgi set that Sabaku No Gaara could still scare the life out of anyone. He too kept tabs on his teammates, but he had angled himself microscopically more towards his white haired teammate, Hikari. Shikamaru wondered what Gaara's siblings would think about their little brother having a protective streak. Gaara was watching her the way Konoha's medical ninja watch the patients they personally cared for. An interesting development for sure.

The group before him split ways just as he finished his thoughts. Kakashi was the only one left, and he faced the lazy ninja. "Tell Tsunade-sama, we'll be on our way within the hour."

Shikamaru nodded, "Good luck."

"Thanks, we need it."

They went their separate ways, and Shikamaru began his relaxed stroll back to the Hokage. He'd have to let Temari know that Gaara had been here. She and Kankarou had desperately been chasing after him since he left three years ago. If he didn't tell her and she found out about it, she would flatten him with that ginormous fan of hers. On the other hand, if he did tell her, the Hokage might decide to do worse. He heaved a heavy sigh muttering under his breath."Scary women, how troublesome."

He'd just have to deal with it when the time came.

They were quick. Kakashi had allowed a fast food stop before they grabbed their things and headed out. Now, they were speeding through the trees, rushing from limb to limb. If they were going to reach their target location on time they would have to keep a schedule of only stopping at dark. It would be tiring, but it would put them arriving with enough time for a good nights sleep before they would be forced to act.

Doubts swirled around in his head, and he found himself wondering what Naruto would do. Shaking his head, he mentally slapped himself because he knew Naruto would have pushed through. Slow though he was, Naruto never let anything stop him from trying his hardest. The boy threw himself into things head first, never considering the possibility of failure, or things that could go wrong. Maybe he should aim to be more like that. Not rushing in without considering the situation, of course, but having a more optimistic side. Kakashi wasn't a very optimistic person so perhaps he would just have to settle for pushing his doubts to the wayside and focussing on doing all that he could.

The grey haired man pushed off another branch and came to a decision. There could be no room for doubts if he wanted this mission to succeed, whether the Ōkami were involved or not. Naruto would have pushed on no matter who his comrades were, and now Kakashi would do the same. Determination filled him; they would complete this mission.

Ishigakure no Sato here they come.

"_You're not getting away this time, Sasuke. I swear it."_

A/N: Have I mentioned that I love Shikamaru? I just really needed some Shikamaru. lol This chapter is also unbeta'd. Thanks for all the support It means a lot. =)


	7. Wishful Thinking

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. I do, however, own the plot to this story and Hikari.

**Summery:** It's strange how you don't realize how much you've ingrained someone into your life until they're gone. The village of Konoha found this to be true the day Uzumaki Naruto's light was put out. Now the Nine-tails is still showing no signs of reforming and the Leaf Village has hired a trio of unclaimed ninja to help retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru, but the subtle similarities between the groups leader and Naruto are startling and Kakashi doesn't know how long he can handle this partnership before he finally loses his sanity.

**Rating:** T for now

**A/N: **Life... That's all I can say guys; just life. Also, writers block is agony.

Sorry it's short. I know it's been a long time so I wanted to at least get something up for you guys.

A push off of a branch sent him flying fifteen yards to another tree. They had been traveling for three hours now and he was glad to finally be on their way. The sooner they finished this mission the sooner he could leave Konoha behind. Being in the village again made him antsy. He kept waiting for someone to snap at him and attack. The teen took a glance at his former sensei. The man was as handsome as ever, which was freaking annoying. He had always had a bit of a hero worship type crush on the attractive male. His light grey hair, porcelain skin and soul piercing eyes (When they weren't looking bored with life that is.) had never failed to speed up his heart rate and make him want to impress his sensei. The only real change was the dark circles under his eyes. Even now, looking at the strong male made the teen struggle to keep his heart at an even pace.

"_Nii-San." _ Suddenly echoed in his head and he turned his attention to Hikari flying limb to limb next to him. _"If you keep watching him like that you're going to run into a tree."_

He couldn't help the face he made in response,_"I know, I can't help it. It's all so weird, and I still don't think we should have agreed to do this."_

"_You know we didn't honestly have a choice. Since we've taken jobs from other places, the refusal of this mission would have caused us to be seen as enemies of the Land of Fire." _Gaara inserted his opinion.

"_Gaara's right. We have enough trouble being constantly chased by the Land of Snow, we can't afford to add Konoha on top of that. Besides, if we hadn't taken this mission you would have regretted it. I know you're worried for the Uchiha."_

The boy blew out a heavy breath. It was annoying to know they were right, but it didn't make facing people who used to be his comrades any easier. _"I know, but that still doesn't make coming back here, in any form, a good idea."_

"_No,"_ Gaara agreed._"Perhaps not. But, I'm sure this is a one time deal made of desperation. Besides," _He continued in his usually bland tone,_"as long as you keep ogling Kakashi's ass I'm sure no one will realize you're you."_

The boy sputtered at his friends words, tripped on the branch he'd meant to plant his foot on, and cartwheeled down into a bush on the forrest floor."That's not-! I didn't-! Gaara!" he screeched.

His two teammates landed lightly in the tree above. Hikari chortling, and Gaara with his arms crossed, a hint of a smirk on his lips.

"Really, Nii-san? I think you were." Hikari snickered.

Their teasing was quickly interrupted by an irate Kakashi."If you're done playing, can we complete the mission we're paying you for." He said, a cold fury sharpening every word.

Currently brown eyes regarded the leader of team seven, a pang of hurt searing through him. Even now, as someone who Kakashi believed was a complete stranger, he was still disappointing his former sensei.

He tightened his jaw, fighting the urge to wrap his arms around himself for comfort. Making brief eye contact with that visible cold eye, the Ōkami's leader jumped back into the foliage and resumed the march forward. His team followed behind him."_He's just upset over the situation." _Hikari tried to reassure him.

"_No, he's upset because Naruto decided to make an ass of himself in his spar with Sai."_

"_What did you expect me to do? It's a waste of time! We're not going to work with them again. We aren't a lasting team. Learning how we fight isn't necessary" _Naruto defended stiffly.

"_No, but you made it look like you believed Sai's abilities were so beneath you that trying at all was pointless." _Gaara returned.

"_I didn't mean it that way!"_ The black haired boy returned, sounding horrified. He hated being treated like he wasn't good enough, and he had never intended to impress that feeling on the strange raven haired boy."_I never meant to do that! I just...I don't trust them, and they don't trust us, and I don't want them knowing what I'm capable of just in case I need to use those capabilities to get us away from them!" _Still speeding through the leaves, he scrubbed a hand over his face._ "I have a sick feeling that something is going to go longer this goes on the more chances there are for that to happen. I just want it over with. They aren't my comrades anymore."_

To his side Hikari looked sad._"We know that, Nii-san, but they don't. Maybe apologizing to him would ease our standings a bit. Just... Just know that you have us and we'll all be careful. No one will be able to discern your chakra, and it'll be over soon. We won't let anything go wrong. Once we've helped Konoha we can decline any other missions as being unable do to previous engagement."_ She gave him a sideways glance that he returned for a moment. _"We just need to do what we do best." _She started.

"_We complete the mission like we would any other." _Gaara finished.

Naruto couldn't help the rush of gratefulness he felt for both of their support. Giving them both a grateful smile he answered._"Hai."_

_These two_ were his comrades, and with them he finally had the family he'd always wanted. No matter what happened, he wouldn't let anyone take that away from him.

They continued on until after dusk before they finally stopped for the night. It was a warm night making a fire unnecessary, and camp was set up quickly. After eating they all looked at each other wearily. None of them had thought to discuss sleeping arrangements beforehand. After a glance at the group of awkward ninja, Naruto sighed. "Look, since none of us are really...comfortable with each other. We should just do one of us with one of you for three shifts. I'll go first, Gaara prefers second, and Hikari will take last.

The grey haired man gave an agreeing nod. "I'll take first, Sai second, Sakura third." Kakashi was swift to say. It was obvious to the former Konoha Shinobi that Kakashi didn't trust him around his team. He inwardly winced, he couldn't blame the man. His talk with Gaara and Hikari had helped to pull him out of his own way he had acted was unacceptable. Allowing his fear over someone discovering him, and the discomfort of being in the village that hated him to cloud his judgement was a mistake. Naruto knew better than to lose sight of their mission objectives. Getting so wrapped up in his head was a good way to cause the deaths of his friends and himself. Letting himself get caught up in what if's had also left him acting like the bastards he'd always hated; the ones who didn't think you were worth their time and treated you accordingly. Losing sight of that again was not something he would let himself to do. Caring about people was what kept him from being the monster everyone had always claimed he was. The monster he refused to be.

Blowing out a breath, Naruto settled against a tree trunk. At some point he would find the time to apologize to Sai for the way he had, unintentionally, treated him. For now he'd finish his watch with Kakashi and then get some much needed sleep. Of course that was only if he could refrain from pissing the man off further than he already had.

The rest of their rag tag group were asleep before long and Kakashi had, at some point, taken the spot next to him. Time passed slowly while the former blonde waited to see what the attractive male at his side would say.

Finally, the silence became too much for the Jinchūriki to handle.

"I'm sorry."

Kakashi looked at him with surprise in his eye, clearly not expecting an apology.

"The way I acted earlier was uncalled for. I...don't like big villages. Too many people around freaks me out. Hikari and Gaara both told me how much of a bastard I came across as, so I'm sorry. I wanted to get the stupid spar out of the way so we could do what we're here for. Bringing the Uchiha back is why we were brought on and we will complete the mission, but we are rogue ninja to every village out there and showing people we don't know or trust what we're capable of is dangerous." Naruto brought his knee up to rest his arm on, before turning to look at the older man. "Being rogues isn't exactly easy, and I won't let my family be taken down because of a temporary alliance."

He could feel Kakashi studying him. Analyzing his words."Family, huh..."

"Yes, family."

Kakashi nodded."How long have you been together?"

"All three together, its been two years."

"Oh? And, how did you all meet?" Kakashi prompted somewhat curiously.

Naruto hesitated, he didn't know what all he could talk about without coming across as suspicious. Despite the risk, he found himself wanting to tell the man next to him anything he might ask. Wanting to feel that someone he'd once held on a pedestal cared about the things he'd been through or done. Wanting to be able to confide in him the same way he'd always ached to when he was younger. The way he was never able to because something got in the way or his sensei was too busy. Would it really hurt to tell him the little things? As far as they knew Naruto was dead, there should be no reason for them to make a connection. It wouldn't matter, right? Once they brought Sasuke back to the village they would take their payment and leave. Convincing himself there would be no harm in sharing, he answered, "I met Gaara three years ago. I had wandered too close to Suna and came across him. He was just walking; said he was grieving a friend. By that point I had been on my own for some time and I hadn't done the all that well by myself. After talking a bit I offered him a place with me as my comrade, if he wanted, and he took me up on it."

An intense look was leveled his way,"He went with you just like that?" Hatake asked, struggling to understand why a Ninja(who should know better) would take up with a complete stranger.

"Believe it." Naruto gave a rasping chuckle."Half starving, as I was then, I wasn't really a threat to him and he knew it. Besides, I think he wanted to start over. Jinchūriki are not treated very well," Naruto's serious gaze briefly met Kakashi's. " but then, I don't really need to tell you that... Gaara said that after having his friend, and your Jinchūriki, open his eyes to there being more than just himself to love, he didn't want to settle for the existence he was limited to." Talking about it made memories of that day flood back. Gaara had recognized him purely because of Kyubi and Shukaku's Biju connection, and he had not allowed him to leave Suna unless he took him with him. Gaara had, more or less, told him that he wanted to make sure the one friend he knew was real wouldn't get himself killed. If Naruto were being honest, he had never been so happy to lose a fight.

"And Hikari?" Kakashi questioned, drawing him out of the past.

Naruto hummed, leaning his head back against the tree and closing his eyes. "We met Hikari maybe a year later? She had just defected from her village and they'd sent Hunter Nin after her. We saw the battle from about half way through, and watched her take them down." A slightly awed tone overtook the teens voice as he spoke. "When we decided to step in; the surrounding area was destroyed and she was standing in the middle of it with five Hunters down and two left. None of them had much chakra left, but they had her at a stale mate. We took them down and tried to convince her to join us. It took a lot more than just an offer for her to become our comrade, though." Not realizing it, the teen had relaxed, giving Kakashi more information than he intended. It felt like old times when he would prattle on, regardless of whether anyone was actually paying attention to him. Except now he had someone willingly listening and he tried to shove down the part of him that almost ached with loneliness at finally having this mans focus on him.

"How did you convince her?" Kakashi prodded, noticing he no longer needed much to keep the raven haired teen talking.

"Hmm, we kept track of her; stopped any Hunters that came after her, and eventually she decided that we were a better choice than being on her own." He shrugged,"It's been the three of us since then." One thing he and Gaara had quickly agreed on after watching the feline-like female fight was that Hikari needed protection. Letting her continue on her own would have meant her death. No matter her talent for incapacitating.

Kakashi eyed him sardonically, "So, you stalked her until she decided she'd rather keep the two of you where she could see you."

Naruto gapped in shock, this bastard didn't understand. "No! That's not-! It wasn't like that!" He whispered harshly. "She needed people who understood how she felt, and wouldn't take advantage of her because of what she can do! We weren't some sick perverts who wanted to write books about getting in her pants! We all needed a team we could count on the keep us alive, and we sure as hell weren't going to return to our villages or join the damned Akatsuki!"

Mentioning the Akatsuki made the man next to him stiffen and study the younger male almost accusingly. "You've heard of them have you." It wasn't a question and Naruto found himself bristling.

"Gaara is a Jinchūriki" He snapped. "Of course we've heard of them!" The normally blonde male realized he'd begun to raise his voice in anger and held himself in check."I'm aware that I offended you today, but don't try to judge us because I can almost guarantee that you are wrong."

"If you really did just do it to get the spar out of the way then why add the dramatic yelling?" Kakashi challenged heatedly.

Naruto practically growled at that, "That wasn't for _effect. _Those damn chakra beasts _hurt_."

"You expect me to believe that?" Kakashi returned, his own growl lacing into his tone.

The sixteen year old glared intensely at the older ninja, "I don't care what you believe." He spat. This, he began to remember, was one reason he left. He was an outcast who no one bothered to truly listen to or believe in. Leaving had enabled him to escape the accusing eyes and disbelieving adults who had happily placed blame on his shoulders (no matter who had really broken a vase, ruined a rug, or tore up a garden), who refused to see him as nothing but an overly dramatic screw up. Dealing, again, with that swift belief in the worst just solidified his trust that leaving had been the best thing for him.

Those chakra snakes _had_ hurt. Naruto wasn't lying about that. Sai may have marked him to get the snakes to give chase, but once they connected they began hunting out his chakra like they were created to do. If he had realized they would do that, he wouldn't have let them catch him. The effort they put into dragging his chakra to the surface enough to be readable felt as if little hooks caught on his insides and ripped them through his skin. It was kind of sad that not even his friends had realized he'd been in real pain, but then, they had never really seen him respond to that level of pain before. Knowing that, he couldn't bring himself to be upset with them.

Silence reigned tensely once more between them. Naruto's anger slowly became resignation; he had already known what the people of Konoha believed of him and he shouldn't have let himself hope for any kind of relation with Kakashi. It hadn't happened before when he'd been one of them so how could he have thought it would happen as a stranger. Raising his own hopes for something he could never have seemed to be his folly. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest, and he took a deep breath, blinking back the liquid forming in his eyes. Why was he crying? The Jinchūriki had thought he was past this stupid longing. Clenching his fists tightly he forced himself to remember his family laying a few feet from him. They accepted him; every quirky and damaged bit of him. Naruto couldn't allow himself to forget that he was no longer alone. Breathing became easier after that, the tightness, caused by forcing down his grief, slowly abating.

It wasn't hard to tell that Hatake was darkly contemplative as he tried to decide whether or not to take Naruto's words as the truth. The Jinchūriki convinced himself that didn't hurt and focused instead on his expanded senses. Keeping watch was what they were awake for right now anyway, and Naruto refused to leave room for an accusation that he hadn't done his part. If Hatake Kakashi had anymore questions he wouldn't be getting them answered. The rest of their watch would pass in silence.

**A/N: **I didn't edit this to the extent that I usually do so if you see a mistake, or just something that doesn't make sense, please let me know.


	8. Deeper

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. I do, however, own the plot to this story and Hikari.

**Summery:** It's strange how you don't realize how much you've ingrained someone into your life until they're gone. The village of Konoha found this to be true the day Uzumaki Naruto's light was put out. Now the Nine-tails is still showing no signs of reforming and the Leaf Village has hired a trio of unclaimed ninja to help retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru, but the subtle similarities between the groups leader and Naruto are startling and Kakashi doesn't know how long he can handle this partnership before he finally loses his sanity.

**Rating:** T for now

**A/N:** Sorry this has taken so long. The last several months have been pretty shitty for me, but things are a bit better now so I decided to celebrate by posting a new chapter. I promised that I wouldn't abandon this story and I don't break promises. I also have Naruto episodes saved up for inspiration because I don't want to leave you guys hanging for so long again. Un-betaed as always.

* * *

_**Four years earlier**_

"Eh, Kakashi Sensei?"

"What, Naruto?" His response too exasperated to be a real question.

"What's something I can train on? I Want to train hard too!" Naruto yelled excitedly, rubbing his hands together and chortling schemingly. "Sasuke-teme has enough to work on; give me something too! I need to know more if I'm gonna get good and become the Hokage! Believe it!"

Kakashi resisted rolling his eyes at the boy's overly energetic-almost spastic-antics. Instead, focussing on his book as he answered "I already gave you something to work on."

"I can walk up tree's just fine, Sensei! Give me something new!"

"Really," he said dryly,"can you stand upside down for long periods of time? Because last time you fell head first."

"Waah!" The boy yelled, some of his exuberance vaporizing from his countenance."That was just exhaustion, Sensei! I can do it! Give me something new so I can master it!

Kakashi sighed, he was too tired from training Sasuke(That kid's brooding aura really wore on you after a while.)to be dealing with Naruto's never ending energy right now. "Keep practicing what I've taught you, Naruto. Being strong at the basics make Ninja better at the more complicated Jutsu." It wasn't a lie. "When you can jump tree to tree upside down, then I'll teach you something new."

There, that would give him time to recover and make Naruto even happier when he taught him something, despite not being able to jump tree to tree upside down. After all, that was impossible. Once your feet left the tree, gravity took over, but he knew Naruto was good enough with his chakra to catch himself before he could really get hurt.

Naruto gave him a wondering look."You can do that!" He yelled in question.

Kakashi hummed a noncommittal answer. He wouldn't flat out lie to him, but that didn't mean he couldn't mislead him for a time. Once he had recovered from the toll that teaching Sasuke took on him he would help the energetic blonde, for now he needed rest.

If he'd known then the extent of the damage that misleading would cause, he never would have allowed that belief to linger...

_**Now**_

Kakashi squinted into the thick, oozing darkness around him. Even with his sharingan activated he could see nothing through the inky black. Something was preventing his sight and the heavy atmosphere was like a tangible sludge all around him. He could almost feel it slipping across his skin in an unnerving manner, causing his throat to tighten and his muscles to twitch in aversion. The hair on his neck stood on end, and he knew he wasn't alone. Someone, or something was slinking around just out of touch. Waiting. Thinking. Plotting. He could feel them with his chakra, and somehow he knew that he knew this person. Their own chakra was distorted and teasing, brushing against his own just enough to provoke his confusion.

"Who are you?" he wondered aloud.

The answering voice was just as distorted as the chakra it wielded. Grinding on his nerves, like nails on a chalkboard, as it vibrated his inner ear."Don't you know?" it taunted. "Have you forgotten me already? I'm hurt."

The sludge dripping before his eyes swirled, turning to a thick smoke before blowing away to reveal a silhouette drenched in shadow. "I shouldn't be surprised." The nerve stressing sound continued. "You never really cared about me anyway. Isn't that right, Sensei?"

Kakashi felt every ounce of his body freeze at those words, his eyes snapped up to meet newly unveiled blue. The black tar draped over his stature began to tighten and breathing became harder. He knew those eyes. Those lonely, heart rending eyes that had begged for his attention for years, now laced with anger and accusation. "That's not true!" the grey haired male pleaded for the younger to believe while his figure slowly filled in to show the blonde student he'd failed. "I've always cared about you, Naruto."

The twelve year old figure scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest in anger."If that were true you wouldn't have left me vulnerable. You wouldn't have let me die!"

Grief tore through his chest, stopping his lungs for a moment with pain."I'm sorry, Naruto, I'm sorry." A dry sob wore down his throat as he held it at bay. "Please. I'm sorry. So sorry, please."

He continued to apologize, closing his eyes to hold back the tears while a harsh grip landed on his shoulder shaking him where he stood. "What a pathetic apology." The voice huskier and deeper now, rasped in his ear.

The grip tightened and shook harder,"Look at me, Sensei... Look at me!"

Kakashi's eyes flew open with a gasp and for a moment an older, teenage Naruto stared down at him in concern. Then, he blinked and the vision cleared to show Ryu hovering above him, his brown eyes narrowed in confusion and concern. The grey haired male blew out a breath and shrugged the raven's hand off his shoulder. Ryu stepped back, giving him a lingering, calculating look before moving off to continue packing up his bedding.

Running a hand through his hair, Kakashi blew out a breath. Maybe he should stop trying to sleep. Who needed sleep anyway? Gaara had managed just fine growing up... Well, if you ignored the homicidal and psychopathic tendencies.

Glancing around their camp he saw that he was the last to wake, and he quickly began putting his things together.

Once they all had their packs again strapped to their backs, they took to the trees. Kakashi calculated they would reach the dessert sand in three hours if they kept a good pace. From there, they would have two days, plus a few hours, of travel before they reached the location of Orochimaru's current hideout. It would be hard to keep their time table; there was no room for any errors that could possibly slow them down.

This mission was extremely difficult, there was a reason it was S-Class, but the hardest part would honestly be getting away without the Snake Sannin and his lackeys stopping them. Contingency plans were needed, but the leader of Team 7 was finding it hard to focus on the task when his thoughts kept returning to his dream and the conversation he'd had with Ryu the night before.

The dream had shaken him. It wasn't like his usual dreams, with Naruto dying, or him walking away and getting further and further no matter how hard Kakashi tried to catch him. No, this one had been worse. The tar constricting him, making it hard to breath, and those angry blue eyes glaring at him accusingly. He grimaced under his mask; it had felt horrifyingly real and the only thing he could think of that could have caused such a change in his nightly anguish was Ryu.

Their talk last night had brought up things he didn't want to think about. He didn't want to think about how difficult the villagers had made Naruto's life, or how alone he had felt, or how he had never been able to lean on his Sensei. He didn't want to be reminded that Gaara had been friends with Naruto. He'd been doing his best to forget that detail so he could end this mission with his sanity intact. Now, though, he couldn't keep his mind from it. Every time he looked Gaara and Ryu's way he could not help but compare their relationship to the picture he conjured of how the two Jinchūriki's would relate. For the last hour, the red head seemed to be randomly saying or doing subtle things that caused the raven to turn red and either lob something in his direction or sputter some sort of denial while Hikari laughed at their antics.

The trio weren't slowing them down this time, so he resigned to fully let their antics go. Despite the noise and distraction they provided, Kakashi couldn't bring himself to yell at them again. He knew he had been harsh to Ryu the previous night, but he had felt like the teen had been shoving Naruto's absence in his face. He sighed. Hurt had displayed itself on the younger male's face, though he had obviously been trying to hide it, and Kakashi could feel a measure of guilt building. How many times had he seen that look on Naruto's face and not realized it? Seeing that look while Ryu had been defending himself against the silver eyed ninja, brought past conversations with Naruto into sharp perspective. Now all he could picture was every conversation with the blonde ending in a downtrodden expression.

Had Naruto been more hurt then he'd let on? Kakashi wasn't stupid, he knew Naruto didn't have the best life, but had he missed more than he'd originally thought? The possibility of being so wrong about Ryu, forced him to consider that he might have.

How much time had passed since Ryu became a rogue ninja? He'd said he'd been alone before meeting Gaara...so more than three years? Was there ever someone he'd relied on, who let him down the way Kakashi let down his blonde student? Had he been like Naruto before abandoning his village? Was it even fair to call it abandoning, if the boy's own sensei abandoned him first? All these unanswered questions left his head in dizzying whirlwind. The frustration of it all made him wish he could turn off his brain. So many of his problems could be solved if his brain would just take a break from harassing him every now and then.

He forced himself to focus on his surroundings again; dwelling was making him sick.

The Copy Nin's gut was telling him Ryu had been sincere in what he'd told him. It was just like Naruto... Ryu had taken something Kakashi thought he believed and spot lighted it until he was forced to see the things he'd been trying to avoid. Waking up with Naruto's face overlaying Ryu's hadn't helped his turmoil.

Ever since they met he found himself comparing Ryu to who Naruto might have been. Their antics, and waking up to his mind playing tricks on him, had Kakashi seeing Naruto in everything the younger male did, finding little characteristics that screamed Naruto.

The silver haired male figured it made sense for Gaara to have taken up with someone so much like the boy who had changed his world, but he felt a small measure of hatred for the red headed Jinchūriki for putting him through the pain of seeing the type of teen Naruto never got to be. It was almost erie how much he resembled Naruto in character. They were making it a struggle for Kakashi to think of anything other than Naruto. His brain was beginning to point out more and more similarities between Ryu and Naruto; a facial expression, a hand gesture, his energy, an indignant shout...His head was starting to hurt from his nit-picking and he almost felt that slamming his forehead against a tree might be the only way to stop the agonizing comparisons.

Kakashi forced his blank gaze away from the trio. He needed to change his focus.

To his side he could see the disapproving scowl Sakura kept throwing their way, and the blank, uncomprehending glances Sai was giving them. It wasn't really surprising. Sakura had thrown those same glances at Naruto when he and Sasuke used to fight, and Sai was not used to seeing such camaraderie among his teammates, something he pitied the younger male for. Kakashi was sure that if Naruto were still alive, Sai would have known what it was like to have true camaraderie with his teammates. As it was now, Sakura had closed her heart off just as much as the silver haired man had himself, and though she hid behind an air of superiority, he could still see the twinge of wistful pain in her eyes every time she glanced at their three companions. Their dynamics may be different from Sasuke, Naruto, and hers had been, but it was still a devastating reminder of what she'd lost; of what they'd both lost.

Shaking his head, he tried to pull his thoughts away from the morose path they'd been taking. Kakashi needed to find a way to stay focused on this mission. He _had_ to.

"_So...how many do you think there are?" _Naruto mentally inquired.

Gaara was first to respond, _"They usually come in threes... But after so many failures they may have upped the count."_

Hikari was silent, but her frustration was palpable through the bond. She hadn't sensed them.

"_It's okay, Hikari, that's why we stick together. Remember?"_ Naruto tried to reassure.

A pulse of stoic agreement came from Gaara, and Hikari mentally sighed. She knew she had limits, but being reminded of them always stung. Instead of answering she directed the conversation back to the situation._"Should we tell them, Nii-san?"_

Her companions easily followed her redirect, knowing it was a sore subject. Naruto hummed and returned, "_I don't want them to know we've realized they're following us. They've been there for two hours so I'm sure the others have noticed as well. I doubt there's a need to tell them."_

Gaara and Hikari's silent question was heavy through their bond. Sometimes he didn't like being in charge...Making a face, Naruto answered."_Continue like we haven't noticed. Be a little more obnoxious, but be ready to act. It's probably Snow nin again, so stick close, Hikari."_

"_Hai." _They responded.

Nodding in acceptance, Naruto turned to the task of seeming oblivious, wondering how long it would be before their tails made an appearance.

.

.

.

It took an hour and five minutes for the ninja behind them to make their move. They had just reached the edge of the forrest when they were surrounded. Six against six, Naruto appraised, at least it was even. Hopefully these men would go down quickly, Kyubi knew they couldn't afford to loose too much time.

Admittedly it might be good that their dynamics were tested now rather than when they were really in the thick of things. As it was they had never discussed what approach they would take if they were to fall victim to an ambush. They had a solid plan for relieving Orochimaru of Sasuke, but they didn't know each others fighting enough for them to know how to maneuver without interfering with one another. He winced internally, okay that was largely his fault, but he didn't actually make that choice until he'd begun the fight. Sai was formidable and it seemed smarter not to let the male push him into showing how much of a challenge he could really pose them as an enemy. Now, he was wondering if he'd made a mistake. Knowing there was nothing he could do to change it now he lazily observed their opponents. One of the few things he'd learned from his former sensei was being annoyingly calm in the face of the enemy while also being able to execute deadly moves in the blink of an eye.

"_Tag-team or one on one?"_ He asked of the two he held dear.

His answer however, came from Kurama. _"I suggest tag-team given our time table."_

Agreement hummed through their bond from Hikari, Gaara, and Shukaku.

Naruto looked to his left and made brief eye contact with Kakashi. His old sensei gave him a sharp nod, and Naruto quickly returned it. They would keep their three on three battles separate. It was a branch offered in tentative trust and he wouldn't disappoint the man he'd harbored a crush on for so long because some infuriating part of him still wanted this mans approval.

He turned back to their opponents, a plan forming._"Alright, this is what we're going to do..."_

It was dim in the windowless room. A single candle sat on a side table next to a dingy sofa occupied by two; the only other object in the otherwise bare space. A man with dark hair and white bandages covering half his face, as well as the majority of his body, stood opposite the furniture occupied by two, face turned to the empty wall. "What is your position on Tsunade's decision regarding the Uchiha?" He asked his guests.

"Pah!" The age lined female spat. "She should know better than to put trust in outsiders!"

The third occupant nodded his agreement,"Tsunade has made this type of mistake before, in trusting the Kyubi container prior to his death. Something may have to be done."

"I'm glad you feel this way." The standing male answered."One of my men is already investigating how to get rid of the outsiders. If they return, we will be ready to ruin them. They will learn why Konoha is still a village to be reckoned with despite our lack of Biju."

"A noble preemptive move. How do you plan to destroy them?" The woman eyed him, intently awaiting an answer.

"My subordinate has informed me of a chakra tattoo tying the three rogues together. I plan on undoing the binding. If the connection is as strong as he believes it to be, then they will be severely incapacitated once it is gone. He continues to search for other weaknesses to exploit, but their leader is cautious and hasn't revealed his abilities past his speed." The bandaged male finally turned to the elder two seated on the couch behind him. "Despite this, I believe their decimation will be easily attained. They do not know what Konoha is truly capable of, after all."

The female hummed,"Very good. We shall leave it up to you then, to correct Tsunade's mistake."

"You do your village proud." The male added. "We shall take our leave."

"Do not disappoint us." She threw over her shoulder as they left."It will not bode well if you do..."

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**A/N:** Thanks to those who've stuck with me, I know how much it sucks to wait so long for such short chapters. =\


	9. A Sliver of Trust

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. I do, however, own the plot to this story and Hikari.

**Summery:** It's strange how you don't realize how much you've ingrained someone into your life until they're gone. The village of Konoha found this to be true the day Uzumaki Naruto's light was put out. Now the Nine-tails is still showing no signs of reforming and the Leaf Village has hired a trio of unclaimed ninja to help retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru, but the subtle similarities between the groups leader and Naruto are startling and Kakashi doesn't know how long he can handle this partnership before he finally loses his sanity.

**Rating:** T for now

**A/N: ***blatantly ignores that it's been 5 months* This is the last of the traveling. Your comments and Kudos help my easily distracted mind back on the writing track, so thank you. I wish to know if there are any parts of the characters' 'history' mentioned that you would like to have it's own one-shot? I wouldn't write those side stories until after this story is finished, but I wanted to know if anything struck your fancy. Un-betaed as usual.

_**Four years earlier**_

Naruto panted hard, bent over with his hands on his knees. He'd thought it would be easier to learn jumping limb to limb upside-down, but it was proving to be a challenge.

That was okay, though, he liked a challenge and he wouldn't give up!

Squinting up at the branches, Naruto wondered what he was doing wrong. He could walk along the trees at any angle he wanted with his chakra, but the second he tried to leap, he fell hard to the ground. The blonde furrowed his brow in thought. Maybe he needed to focus his chakra elsewhere once he leapt?

"Oi, Naruto. What are you doing?" A voice broke his line of thought.

He turned to the voice with a grin lighting up his face. "Hey, Assuma-sensei! I'm training to jump upside-down!"

The dark haired man frowned, the cigarette between his lips glowing as he inhaled. "Flips are things you should have learned in evasive maneuvering long ago, Naruto."

"Huh?" Naruto squinted up at him. "I'm not doing flips, Sensei! I'm trying to jump from there to there, upside-down!" He exclaimed, pointing from one branch to another.

Assuma blew out a smoke filled breath with a slight huff of laughter."What gave you the idea to do that?"

"Kakashi-sensei." Naruto answered in a way that said he thought Assuma should know this."He said that once I can do it, he'll teach me something new so I can beat Sasuke-teme, and become Hokage!" Naruto gave Assuma a big grin, throwing out his arm in a thumbs up.

Assuma hummed,"Well, don't hurt yourself." He turned in the direction of Konoha and began walking away.

"Hey!" Naruto protested. "I won't! Believe it!"

Now, he pursed his lips, he just needed to figure out what he was doing wrong...

_**Now**_

The fight was long. Longer than they could truly afford with their already tight timeline, and Naruto knew everyone was feeling just as ragged and worn as he was. His plan of surrounding their three opponents so Hikari could use Gaara and him as conduits to paralyze the three, had failed. They couldn't land a hit long enough for Hikari to send out a pulse through them and they had been forced apart by one of the Snow Nin with a hurricane-level wind jutsu. A different angle was needed quickly if they were going to get out of this.

The link between Hikari, Gaara, and himself had their chakra replenishing just as quickly as it was used, but it was doing nothing for the physical exhaustion that was beginning to make it hard to keep moving. It wasn't just his own exhaustion either. One of the pitfalls of their chakra tattoo was the doubled physical effect for every extra person linked. Even Gaara, unharmed thanks to his sand shield, was fatigued and feeling echoes of Naruto and Hikari's injuries through the bond.

Naruto's opponent was panting hard, holding the broken arm he'd received in the scuffle. Using the pause to his advantage, Naruto took stock. His left calf was cramping, there were long diagonal gashes along his rib cage and left thigh from his opponent's successful feint five minutes prior, and to his side Hikari's ribs had been re-broken; just when they had finally finished healing. He could feel Gaara's anger mix with his own. Her healing wasn't even close to theirs as Jinchuriki, it would take several healing sessions with Gaara before her ribs were recovered. The best they could do for her until then was to have her back, and take enough of her pain to ensure she could keep going.

Naruto didn't like it, but there was no other choice, they were going to have to reveal a few abilities. "_Gaara, I need you to get to Hikari and help her distract them. Hikari I need your extensions so I can mark them. This needs to end now."_

"_Hai."_ They agreed readily. It was nice having a team that knew and trusted you.

Gaara ran towards Hikari, sand moving like a large wave to cover his movements from the kunai flying towards him. Somehow, after all their time together, it was still strange to see Gaara move at anything more than a leisurely pace. Shaking off the feeling, Naruto used his chakra to fuel his speed. His hand met Hikari's just as she threw it out, and he felt the strings attach to his skin. Usually she would throw the strings around on her own, but with one of the Snow ninja having the ability to use wind to force objects and projectile jutsu's off course, she was having to rely on Naruto to give her a connection to work with.

His white haired teammate brought her hand up in front of her chest in a sign to focus her chakra, while Gaara began to send sharp darts of sand towards the others.

The wind chakra wilding ninja tried to blow the projectiles away, just as Hikari used their tattoo to push her chakra through Gaara and connect to his sand. Her lightning chakra turned the sand to wickedly sharp glass, and gave enough power to carry them through the exhaustion weakened, blast of air. Two of the ninja jumped clear, but the third wielding the wind, wasn't able to uproot quickly enough.

The Snow Ninja looked stunned before he crumpled to the ground, heart beating for the last time. The ones who jumped clear made exclamations of outrage, settling into stances, ready to retaliate. One made to attack, when Naruto appeared back beside Hikari, grabbed her hand, and gave her a sharp nod. His teammate gritted her teeth, pulled chakra from Naruto and Gaara, and sent it singing through the chakra strings to their opponents on the other end. Both men collapsed like puppets whose strings had been severed.

Hikari slid down Naruto's side to the ground, breath shallow and fast, trembling in fatigue and pain. Gaara sat behind her, gently coaxing her to lean against his chest and allowing Naruto to step to the side. Letting out a small whimper, she leaned into him, trying to unclench her muscles, knowing it would help relieve pressure. Gaara placed his arms around her, and laid his chakra laced palms against her injured sides.

Naruto turned to look around them. It was silent around them before a few brave birds resumed their chirping. Sai, Kakashi and their battles were hidden behind trees and distance, but he could see Sakura on the other side of the large clearing. Her opponent lay broken on the disturbed dirt, while Sakura bent with her hands braced against her knees catching her breath. The pink haired Kunochi looked up when she felt his eyes on her. Green eyes took in the three ninja, brows furrowing when she realized they'd sustained injuries.

The former Konoha ninja was sure she was confused. They shouldn't have received any wounds, all three of them outclassed their enemies. However, they had learned the hard way that being hunted continually by the same village, and having some survive the fights to pass on information, made leaving fights unscathed very difficult. The Snow Ninja learned ways around their jutsu, making them work harder to stay ahead enough in their abilities to keep their freedom, and their lives.

Sakura made her way over to where they stood. "Here." She said once she reached them, her hands outstretched.

Naruto was surprised when she began healing the gashes marring his chest without thought. His surprise over her lack of reluctance in helping him, was overshadowed by her obvious exhaustion. Letting out a relaxed breath he pushed his own chakra through to her. She had, after all, been his teammate and one of his precious people, that wasn't something you could just erase, and he had no shortage of power. Sakura gave him a look of astonishment, not having expected anything in return. The kyubi container quirked the corner of his lips in a half grin. He saw something shift in her expression before she returned his smile with a sincere one of her own.

The meaning of her smile was unknown to him, but he hoped it meant that he was beginning to earn her respect.

Through their combined efforts his lashes healed swiftly. Once Sakura removed her hands he thanked her and glanced around the clearing again.

"They're not back yet." Worry tingled in his chest, a frown pulling at his face. "Should we go find them?" he asked the pink haired female.

She shook her head in response. "No, they'll be back soon."

Nodding in acceptance, he sat down back to back with Gaara, who still held Hikari in his arms. It was a habit they had developed, protecting each other's blind spots. Despite their abilities to sense most threats, they never knew when someone might fly under the radar.

Sakura sat facing him, and after a few moments of wondering at her seating choice, he realized she was trusting him to watch _her_ back. If he were honest, Naruto had expected to work much harder to earn that level of trust. He knew enough about her, though, to understand that it meant if he watched her back, without betraying her, she would do the same without fail.

Maybe his fears about this mission were unfounded.

They sat there for twenty more minutes before Sai and Kakashi returned to the clearing. Hikari had fallen asleep during Gaara's administrations, and Sakura had managed to pull Naruto into a flower-crown making contest.

"Sensei, you must be getting old." Sakura said with a smug smirk. "We finished ages ago."

Kakashi blinked at her, his mask hidden face showing no other hint of being stunned by her teasing. She hadn't teased anyone in that self important manner since they'd lost two forth's of their team.

Admittedly, she had shocked herself. She chalked it up to the nostalgia that making flower crowns with Ryu had invoked. It had been a long time since she had really shared the level of camaraderie that she'd been sharing with him.

It invoked a bittersweet memory of doing the same with Naruto. She could still clearly remember when Naruto had acquired that particular skill.

It had been after a c-rank mission involving cleaning some part of Konoha. She had been angry at Naruto for screwing up in some way, and he'd been desperate for her forgiveness. Out of spite, she had told him to do the one thing her younger self had been sure the often bumbling boy could _never_ accomplish. She'd told him to make her a flower crown, by hand, with no jutsu involved. Coupled with a level of complete perfection if she was to be expected to forgive him.

Sakura had seen him for days afterwards sitting in the grass with gatherings of wild flowers, trying to weave them together; usually accompanied by several clones attempting the same feat. A week passed and Naruto approached her grinning like an idiot with the most beautifully intricate flower crown she'd ever seen. He had gotten down on both knees and presented it to her on the palms of his hands just as she had dictated to him in the beginning. She had gotten irrationally angry, snatched it out of his hands, yelled about telling him specifically not to use jutsu or have another person make it for him, along with many other horrible implications of his character before whopping him over the head and stomping away.

It was two days before she saw him again. Naruto had been once more sitting in the grass with wild flowers, but this time he was surrounded by giggling little girls making crowns of their own while occasionally reaching over to correct a finger movement. Seeing the detailed creation his was weaving caused uncertainty to claw at her. It was then that she wondered if perhaps Naruto truly had made the crown he had presented to her.

Three hours after that, a harsh talking to from six protective little girls had her searching for Naruto to apologize. Sakura would never stop wishing that she had treated her blonde teammate better. Even the days when they would sit and weave flowers together were often wrought with some sort of admonishment from her, but those moments were now her most treasured. Making eye contact with the copy ninja Sakura could tell he knew where her thoughts had gone, a similar anguish reflected in his own eye.

Blowing out a breath of air she turned back to Ryu in time to watch him shift to his knees and lift the flower crown towards her on his palms. Sakura's breath caught in her throat, her hand came up to cover her mouth as if she could hold back the pure agony building in her chest. Choking out a thanks she took the delicate creation before walking away as the tears won and spilled down her cheeks. Behind her she could hear Ryu asking what was wrong. If she was okay. Kakashi's response was lost to her while she fought to keep the sob from escaping her throat. Unfortunately, while the sobs could escape her chest, this agony would forever be trapped inside.

They regrouped quickly. Healing and bandaging what they could before setting out for a second time that day. Naruto carried Hikari piggy-back while she slept, and Gaara traveled quietly next to him in case she needed him to take more of her pain. Hikari was the only one who had any lasting injuries; the rest of their hodge-podge group were all fine minus a few cuts, bruises, and exhaustion.

He worried for her. To have a power so strong, and to also have it be her weakness made Gaara wish he could wrap her in chakra and protect her always. Like Naruto, Hikari had become one of his precious people. If he lost them he knew his sanity would return swiftly to the state it had been before Naruto reached through his pain and blood lust to offer the friendship and love he'd always craved. When he'd been informed of Naruto's death, he had felt a devastation he'd not felt since his uncle Yashamaru tried to kill him. Gaara thought that nothing could reach that level of pain until his years of isolation were eliminated by companionship only to have it yanked from his grasp such a short time later. His one saving grace came in the form of the vow he made to live as Naruto did.

The year of suffering in silence was abruptly halted on the first anniversary of Naruto's death. Even after that, Gaara never expected to find another person who accepted him without still showing some level of fear in his presence. Once Hikari decided to trust them, though, she did so whole-heartedly.

Glancing over, he ensured Hikari was still sleeping peacefully and comfortably on Naruto's back, his sand holding her securely in place. It was true that their team worked well in tight timelines, but Gaara stressed that this particular one might be too tight. They would have done better given two weeks, but he supposed it couldn't be helped, since Sasuke kept moving hideouts. As it was they were moving hard and fast, trying to make up the ground they'd lost.

It was long after dark when the team finally stopped to set up camp. Half way through, Gaara took the lead, having been raised in Suna he knew the best places to set up camp, where sand storms wouldn't be a problem if they were caught unaware. He led them into a cave in one of the rockier parts of the Suna landscape, a shelter Gaara had found himself when he was younger and knew was still undiscovered by other ninja. Exhaustion fell heavy on them all, a weight that stooped their shoulders and made it difficult to keep their eye's open.

Agreeing that the watch rotation stay the same as the previous night, with the exception of Gaara and Naruto splitting the night into two shifts between them rather than three, they settled in for the night. Gaara glanced at Naruto and received a nod of solidarity before the former Konoha ninja walked back to the cave entrance out of sight. Hikari had yet to wake up and he could see the concerned looks Sakura threw her way before she crawled into her bed roll, asleep almost before she was fully laying down. Hikari did not want to admit it, and Naruto didn't want to call her out on it, but they all knew the battle the three of them were caught in before arriving in Konoha severely weakened her. Having only two nights to recuperate before being sent on this mission was taking its toll even more. Gaara knew that Naruto planned on making Hikari their trump card. He also knew that after seeing her in this state, something they hadn't seen since their early days together, Naruto would be her legs for the remainder of their trek to Orochimaru's hideout. They needed her to be as healed and energized as they could get her in the short time they had, if they were to have any chance at all of bringing the Uchiha back.

Sasuke's power was something the three of them wouldn't underestimate. Gaara remembered Sasuke from the chunin exams, Naruto remembered training with him, and Hikari was weary of him due to her fellow teammates experiences with him. That along with the reputation the male had amongst the more unsavory crowds of the ninja world was enough to make anyone leery. He was said to be unbeatable in combat, but Gaara didn't believe that. Everyone was beatable, some just took more effort than others.

Leaning back, he glanced at Hikari a final time before settling in for the night. He hoped Naruto's plan worked, otherwise they might as well be sitting ducks.

A/N: Please read the first A/N if you didn't already. Thank you for reading, and I am sorry I'm a shit updater. I would promise that will change...but we all know to never make promises we can't keep.


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